Crossed Off

by Lacey Silks

  I did as he asked, immediately feeling the increased buoyancy. “This is amazing.”

  “Do you want to try on your own?” he asked.

  Yeah, right! I thought. But of course I didn’t want to disappoint him.

  “Maybe tomorrow?”

  “Okay, maybe tomorrow.” He lifted me up from the water and took me into his arms for a lingering kiss.

  “Work should not feel this good,” I said against his lips.

  “We’re not working just yet. That’s tomorrow.”

  After the swim, we sat back in the cabana and practiced our plan once again. Everything had already been set up for tomorrow night. We were supposed to meet Mr. Fords, the dealer, in the casino downstairs. With all the cameras around, I knew that swapping out his phone for the replica would definitely be challenging. But by this point, I was sure that a person staring directly at my hands wouldn’t notice the switch. We’d rehearsed the scene over and over again, and I was sure that I could do this. I wanted to help Cash take Mr. Wagner’s last illegal business down. I wanted Cash to have that family life he dreamed off. He said his father’s obsession with making money was an addiction. Some people were addicted to drugs, others to sex or alcohol—Frank Wagner thrived when his bank account kept going up and up, no matter the consequence, and whether he needed it or not.

  Once this job was done, I could buy a new security system and think about the future. Although over the past few weeks, so much had changed in my life that I didn’t know what the future was any longer. There was a growing need inside me to fix my life, and I was beginning to wonder whether it was better to become the predator instead of the prey.

  CHAPTER 17

  The evening before we were to meet Mr. Fords, I adjusted my blond wig in the mirror. Tonight, I wanted to play out the part of Dana, the woman I’d pretended to be when I met Cash in Vegas. Except this time I didn’t put on my contacts.

  “Do you like it?”

  “You know, Ms. Dana, I’ve been wanting to fuck you since the day I met you.”

  Cash grasped me around my waist, pulling me into his body. My hips collided with his, creating an instant simmering connection.

  “But, Harry. I told you I’m too old for you. I’m sure you have plenty of girls begging you for a date.” I dragged my hands over his stone chest, scraping my nails over the fabric.

  “I like cougars, Ms. Dana. Aren’t you curious what a young stud like me can do to a gorgeous woman like you? I bet you forgot what it feels like to have a skillful tongue between your legs.”

  Just the mention of his tongue on me made me want to jump up on the bed and do a spread-eagle.

  “Harry, you can get any girl in this hotel. Why me?”

  “Because you’re much more than any girl, Ms. Dana. You’re one of a kind.”

  “And I bet you say that to all the girls.”

  “Shut up and kiss me.” Cash lowered his mouth to mine. His lips tasted like a mix of fruit from the salad we’d shared on the balcony just an hour ago, watching the sunset. Cash had kissed me so many times over the past month that his mouth and tongue had absolutely mastered the task of making me wanton. I pressed against his full length, feeling something hard jut into my rib cage. For a moment, I thought he was just happy to see me, but my rib cage? No, that was too high.

  “What’s this?” I asked, pointing at his jacket.

  He opened it, and I heard the air wheeze out of my lungs. Underneath was a holster with a gun. “Just a precaution. Actually, I’m glad you reminded me. Emma said no holsters because of security.”

  Cash removed his jacket and the gun from its containment. He then lifted his leg onto the bed, fastened the piece to another holster around his calf, and proceeded to take the straps off his shoulders.

  “You really think you’ll need this?”

  “I doubt it, Sky. This should be an easy transaction.”

  So far, in all the jobs I’d done, while they appeared easy, I knew that each time I took a risk when working for Wagner. Hopefully Cash knew what he was talking about. He’d been trying to meet Mr. Fords for a few months now, to no avail. And while he didn’t want to say anything, I knew that all the delays made him feel uneasy.

  He revived our kiss again, dissipating my thoughts. If it weren’t for the beeping alarm on Cash’s phone, I was sure we’d end up in a horizontal position within seconds.

  “It’s time. You ready?” he asked.

  “Yes, but hold on. I have something for you.” Crouching by my suitcase, I removed the surprise from within. I held my hands behind my back, watching curiosity beam from his eyes as I sashayed my hips toward him. I brought out the packaged gift and handed it to him.

  “I just thought it won’t get damaged this way,” I explained.

  He tore the paper up and gasped. At least a dozen emotions crossed his face, and the last one I caught was entirely for me as pure love lifted the corners of his mouth into smile.

  “Skyler, I don’t know what to say. Thank you. This means the world to me.” He lowered his face to mine and this time placed a gentler kiss on my lips. “You surprise me every day.”

  A soft knock on the door tore him away from me.

  “I bet you it’s Emma.”

  He opened the door.

  “Come on, peeps. Punctuality is number one.” She tapped her watch.

  “Yes, sir,” Cash mocked, pulling his hand up to his head like an obeying soldier.

  “Don’t give me crap, Cash. Let’s get this done and over with, shall we?”

  We took two separate elevators downstairs. Cash held me under my arm as we passed the security. From the corner of my eye, I saw Emma take her position at the slot machines near the washroom. She wore casual jeans and a T-shirt. I wondered whether she had a gun on her as well.

  We sat at the bar by the blackjack tables. Cash ordered a virgin Bloody Mary while I opted for the strawberry daiquiri, figuring a little bit of alcohol would definitely help to cool the nerves. We exchanged a few courteous words with the bartender and waited until he’d left before I casually turned to the man sitting on my other side. He wore a Hawaiian shirt, the way we’d asked Mr. Fords to do.

  “I think you may have landed in the wrong country, Mr. Fords,” I said.

  “Sometimes the choice of your clothing is not your choice at all.” His tone clearly suggested that he’d rather be elsewhere, which surprised me. “Mr. Fords went to the washroom. He should be back in a couple of minutes.”

  I noticed the half-full glass of thick orange liquor beside the man and a cell phone. It couldn’t have belonged to the guy next to me because he was scrolling through his own phone and the one on the bar looked exactly like the replica in my back pocket.

  Isn’t that perfect timing? I thought.

  “When nature calls, you gotta do what you gotta do.” At the words we agreed upon, I stood up and of course tripped on my three-inch heels right into Mr. Hawaii, who knocked the remains of Mr. Fords’s drink onto the bar.

  “I’m so sorry.” I reached around him for the napkins, giving him an ample view of my boobs, wiping the spilled alcohol while swapping the two phones. I’d practiced the exchange so many times; it was almost like a magic trick. I could do it in front of his eyes and he’d never know about the switch.

  “Excuse me. But I need to use the ladies’ room,” I said.

  “Don’t be long, sweets,” Cash called out behind me.

  I casually walked to the washroom where Emma waited for me with a technician. I gave her the phone, and the redhead took it into the stall to download the information.

  “Everything okay with Fords? Is he creepy?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know. He’s in the washroom, but he left his drink and phone beside his buddy in a Hawaiian shirt. He’s supposed to be back soon.”

  “That’s careless of him to leave it there.” Emma’s brows narrowed and she knocked on the stall door. “Tracy, do you have the right one?”

  “Yes, this is definitely i
t. Thirty more seconds, Em.”

  “Good. Sky, as soon as the exchange is done, you guys go back to the hotel room, all right?”

  “Yes, of course. You don’t look too comfortable, Emma. What is it?”

  “I don’t know.” She rubbed her tummy. “It’s just that when I get this feeling in my stomach, something bad always happens.”

  “Maybe you ate something bad,” I suggested, taking a note of her pale face. Now that I looked at her closer, I noticed that her palm was a bit lower than her stomach. “Or, could you be...?”

  “No, no, no. There’s no way.” But she paused for a longer moment, looking down at her belly. A flash of doubt sparked in her eyes.

  “Emma, you got to get a test.” I had tears in my eyes. The idea of being an aunt was like a dream come true; a dream I didn’t even know I had.

  “Hold your horses.” She removed her phone from her back pocket, scrolled through a calendar, and breathed out in relief. “I’m only a week late.”

  “That’s enough.” I bit my lip.

  At that time, the stall door opened and Tracy came out with Fords’s cell phone, wiped it clean, and handed it back to me. “All ready. One more switch and you’re done.”

  “You would make a wonderful mother,” I whispered in Emma’s ear while hugging her tightly. “And if you are, I’m so happy for you. My brother will be so happy, and I can’t wait to be an aunt.”

  “An aunt who comes and visits Ogden more often?” she asked.

  “I hope so, Em. I hope so.”

  I adjusted my wig in the mirror and left the washroom. Strolling towards the bar, I saw Cash chatting with two men who wore Hawaiian shirts. Cash looked at me from the corner of his eye, watching me approach. His hand signalled that Fords hadn’t noticed his phone was different. Instead of sitting at Cash’s side, I went in right for the kill. The quicker I could do this, the better. I sat at Mr. Fords’ side, saying, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Fords.”

  The purr of my voice definitely got his attention as he turned toward me.

  And that’s when all the blood in my body drained as I stared at the face of the man I killed two years ago, Rick Menzos.

  CHAPTER 18

  “It’s a pleasure meeting you too.” His voice was identical as well and coursed through my body like a thousand razor-sharp knives.

  The world spun around me. My knees felt weak, my head ached and vision blurred. I squeezed the side of a chair to steady my stance and garner my strength. Deep inside, I knew this couldn’t be Rick, because I definitely killed that bastard, but it didn’t make the tragedy I’d lived through two years ago—and this man whom I’d never met before yet feared as if he was the devil himself—any less real. Mateo was Fords. He was the one stealing people’s identities, selling credit cards and fake documents. I guessed after his father’s and brother’s human trafficking business was busted, he was quick to find a new way to make money. And now he was here. The man I’d hidden from for almost two years was only inches away from me. I wanted to turn on my heel and run. My mind shouted to leave this place as soon as I could, but if I did, we wouldn’t finish the business we came here to do and I would have failed Cash. Closing down his father’s last illegal operation was important to him, and I couldn’t mess it up.

  Thank goodness I didn’t put darker contacts on this morning. While Rick’s and Mateo’s eyes were brown, I took after my mother’s side of the family and was grateful for the almost-turquoise hue which definitely didn’t make me appear like I belonged to the Huntz family at all.

  Since my hand had already been extended, I had no choice but shake his. I couldn’t let Cash down now. Taking my sweaty palm into his firm grip, Mateo held it for an uncomfortably long moment, warily looking over my tattoo—the one covering my birthmark. I felt chills sweep over my body. I knew that one day the ink would come in handy. The brown patch that spread over Mateo’s right arm had the same shape and coloring that Rick’s had.

  “That’s quite unique,” he said, finally letting go of my hand.

  “Thank you. It was actually a random design the artist chose. Honestly, I think I was drunk too. That’s what happens when people you call friends don’t make the right decisions for you.” I laughed, hoping the mechanical echo I heard in my ears didn’t sound that way to others.

  Cash must have noticed my fear and discomfort. I saw his neck tense and so I touched my nose to give him the signal that we were going to finish this job but it was time to leave.

  “I see you met my husband already?” I said, pointing to Cash, taking his attention away from me.

  “Yes, Mr. Fords works quick, darling. Everything is set.” As both Mateo and his buddy turned toward Cash, I switched the phones again, then sauntered around Mateo toward the safety of Cash’s body. He wrapped his arm around me protectively, asking, “Is your stomach feeling any better?”

  “I don’t think so. I’ll need to write a letter of complaint to that restaurant. I knew the chicken wasn’t cooked well.”

  “That’s why I only eat red meat,” Mateo replied. “Please, don’t let me keep you. It looks like you need to rest.” His thick Spanish accent reminded me so much of my dead father’s that it sickened my stomach. Part of me couldn’t believe that I was related to this man. How could two families be so different? The Waters were the most loving unit I’d ever seen, whereas Huntz seemed to breed monsters. Was I a monster too? After all, I killed a man. I was no better than Huntz or both my cunning half-brothers.

  “Yes, I think we’ve got all we need.” Cash squeezed the side of my waist, giving me much-needed support. “I’m glad I can count on more transactions from you, Mr. Fords.”

  “Me too.”

  Fords... I wanted to laugh at the fake last name he’d chosen. It didn’t match him at all.

  We said our quick good-byes and left towards the elevators. Once inside, I let out a breath of relief.

  “Skyler, please tell me that wasn’t who I think it was,” Cash said.

  “It was.” I lowered my hands to my knees, steadying myself. My breaths were shallower each second. The constant buzz in my ears was beginning to mess with my center of gravity.

  “Good Lord.” Cash pulled his fingers through his hair before gently touching my shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s hard to breathe.”

  “Hang in there, Sky. You’re safe now, all right? We’re leaving right away.” He removed his phone from his pocket and swiped his finger over the screen. A few keystrokes later he said, “I just told Emma who Fords is. She’s getting a team ready to get him. There’s no way I’m letting that fucker go and have you afraid again.”

  I barely heard what Cash was saying, and using the support of the wall behind me slid down to the floor. Cash crouched beside me. “We’ll get him once and for all, Sky.”

  He lifted me into his arms just as the elevator stopped. Cash carried me to our hotel room. I huddled against him, slowly feeling my body regain its strength. Once he lowered me to the bed, Cash started running around the room, throwing everything into his suitcase, then mine. Five minutes later his phone rang.

  “Hello.... What do you mean he disappeared? Emma, I gotta get Sky out of here right now. We’ll meet you out front.”

  He hung up, zipped up the luggage, and then started flipping through the welcome booklet on the table. Frustrated, Cash dialed the room’s phone.

  “I’d like to check out... room 1508. Thank you. Yes, at the front.” Once done, he joined me on the bed. “You look pale baby. Do you want some water?”

  I shook my head. “I think I need sugar. Juice or something sweet. It doesn’t matter what.” Closing my eyes, I wished I was back in New York, in my safe apartment no one knew about.

  “There’s a vending machine just down the hall. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  I lifted my head. Cash hurried out of the room as if he himself had eaten a full bowl of sugar cubes. Just as I lay back down, a soft knock s
ounded, and I noticed that Cash had left his key card on the table. I shuffled my feet to the door. As soon as I twisted the knob, the door flew open, hitting me on my forehead, knocking me to the floor.

  Mateo stood over me with that same look of hatred in his eyes I remembered Rick had.

  “Hello, Missy. I think it’s time we settled a debt.”

  CHAPTER 19

  The last thing I remembered was Mateo lifting me by the collar of my shirt and his fist flying toward me, inevitably muting the scream that wanted to come out of my mouth but never did. The hard blow to my head must have knocked me out. I wondered how long I’d been out. It was still difficult to open my eyes. Somewhere in the distance, I heard waves lap against the shore. A slight breeze blew over my face, and I knew that I was outside. I tried to move, but my entire body ached, and that’s when the memory of being dragged fifteen storys down flashed in my mind. Each stair must have imprinted a new mark on my ribs and my legs. Mateo wouldn’t even have to beat me up—by the time we got down to the first floor, I knew I couldn’t walk.

  At this moment, the faint smell of chlorine drifted around me, and I tried to open my swollen eyes.

  “There she is,” the familiar voice said. If I never heard a Spanish accent in my life again, I’d be a happy woman. Although seeing that I was lying by the edge of the wave pool, I wondered what sick plans Mateo had in his mind and whether after tonight I’d ever hear any voice at all again. I rolled to the side by a fraction, away from the pool, only to be stopped by his foot.

  “Please.” My hoarse voice sounded foreign to me. The fear from within reminded me of that girl who lived in Ogden, not the one who moved to New York. I tried to contain it, but all those instincts to run away and hide rushed back. I wanted to be far away from this psycho, but I could barely move. Above me, millions of stars shined in the sky. The full moon lightened the water. The night appeared peaceful, but I knew that for me, it was way on the other side of the peace spectrum.